Midds Land
In 849, a sailing expedition set out from Ship, led by Captain Midd. They eventually found a new land, roughly 4000 miles east of First Land, which they named Midds Land, in honor of the expedition's captain. On the westernmost point of the land, they founded a village in 850, which was called Ristar. In 913, the Ristafars founded Midds Land's second village, Barbequeue, on the eastern coast, not far north of Cape Nose. Its coastline is roughly 7000 miles around, making it the second-smallest landmass to be classified as a land. By 853, cartographers had explored all of Midds Land, partially making observations from a flying wagon (which at the time was still not something available to the general public). When a map of the land was finalized, two things were noticed. One was that it was the smallest landmass ever to have been called a land, and some wondered if it should be called an isle. This debate, however, was shelved for some years, because the landmass had already been named. The debate would be reopened in 859, when another sailing expedition discovered what they called Atlast Land, which was even smaller than Midds Land. Both landmasses were allowed to retain their status as lands, and a decision was made in 860 that anything with a coastline measuring even one foot less than that of Atlast Land would be considered an isle. However, this guideline was debated again when Rain Isle was discovered in 884. Since then, there has been increasing talk of redefining isles by land area, however this has not yet garnered enough support to affect an official change in policy. The second thing that was noticed was that if you looked at the map of Midds Land upside down, it somewhat resembles a human head. To the east, as noted, there is a cape which looks like a nose. Just north of that is a river called Frown River, which is said to resemble a mouth in profile. (North of Frown River is Moose Wood, so named for the abundant moose population. There are those who wished the forest would have been located south of the river, so that when looking at the map upside down it would appear above the river, like a mustache.) There is also a river intersecting Frown River and extending south a bit more than halfway toward Cape Nose's southernmost point. This is called the Nasal River. Southwest of Cape Nose is Eye Wood, a forest which is in a position that is roughly where an eye would be on a face seen in profile. South of that is Brow Lake, which some say would have been better as the "eye", and wish the forest would have been south of it, to represent an eyebrow. Finally, on the west coast of Midds Land, just south of Ristar is Ristar Forest, named of course for the village. Some have suggested viewing the forest as an ear, though most agree it's too far back on the "head" for that, and instead choose to see it as a tuft of hair on a mostly bald head. It should be noted that there are also many people who prefer to look at maps rightside up, and call all talk of heads "nonsense." Of far more serious historical significance, it was upon the completion of the map of Midds Land that cartographers started giving serious thought to making a rough map of the entire globe. This was accomplished over several decades of aerial and sea exploration, but not without some mishaps and loss of life. (Some have suggested that this is where the saying "only fools fly over water" originated.) Because of these accidents, many preferred sailing as a means of exploration, though it took longer than flying, and didn't give as good a perspective. However, by 885, when Second Ice was discovered, the map of the world was completed. It is not perfect, but at least we have a fair idea of where the major landmasses are located. For more information, see cartography. It should be noted that the Prime Meridian (as established in 885) runs through Midds Land (specifically Cape Nose). Some have said this is appropriate, since it was the discovery of Midds Land that prompted the new wave of exploration and mapmaking. Others have said it's interesting that the name of the land sounds like "mid," as in the midpoint of the world (or at least of the world map). There are even those who think this fact played a part in the selection of the Prime Meridian. (There's no record of the point having been brought up during the official debates, though that doesn't mean it couldn't have been mentioned in passing.) However, there are still others who point to the coincidence of the name being simply one more piece of evidence that God has a sometimes lame sense of humor. (This point is generally refuted by the obvious fact that God had no hand in naming the captain who discovered the continent that came to bear his name.) Category:Places